The ruminations, cogitations and occasional insights of Curt Parton

Kingdom of God

Two days ago, I posted a link to a recent Christianity Today editorial (Speak Truth to Trump). Christianity Today, established by Billy Graham and other evangelical leaders in 1956, is as close to an official evangelical magazine as you can get. Andy Crouch, writing for the editorial board, begins by noting that Christianity Today has always remained neutral in past elections. But, like many pastors and leaders, they feel the need to speak out this year:

“Just because we are neutral, however, does not mean we are indifferent.”

He describes the absolute rulership of Christ, and the implications for his followers:

“The lordship of Christ places constraints on the way his followers involve themselves, or entangle themselves, with earthly rulers.”

Crouch reminds us of the danger of being so involved in worldly rulers that it becomes idolatrous.

The editorial then briefly reviews the problems with the two major party candidates, beginning with Clinton and then continuing with Trump. Crouch observes that, while criticism of Clinton is very common among evangelical Christians, many have not “shown the same critical judgment when it comes to the Republican nominee.” He lists again some of the obvious red flags regarding his character (which I’ve briefly described here, here, and here), and then concludes of Trump:

“He is, in short, the very embodiment of what the Bible calls a fool.”

Crouch notes that most Christians who support Trump are doing so “with reluctant strategic calculation.” This strategic calculation is focused on the appointment of Supreme Court justices and the impact on vital constitutional issues such as the sanctity of life and marriage, and religious freedom. Crouch then returns to the danger of idolatry in our current situation. This key point is so crucial, I’m going to quote the entire paragraph. I would encourage all of us—especially evangelical supporters of Trump—to consider this carefully:

“But there is a point at which strategy becomes its own form of idolatry—an attempt to manipulate the levers of history in favor of the causes we support. Strategy becomes idolatry, for ancient Israel and for us today, when we make alliances with those who seem to offer strength—the chariots of Egypt, the vassal kings of Rome—at the expense of our dependence on God who judges all nations, and in defiance of God’s manifest concern for the stranger, the widow, the orphan, and the oppressed. Strategy becomes idolatry when we betray our deepest values in pursuit of earthly influence. And because such strategy requires capitulating to idols and princes and denying the true God, it ultimately always fails.”

A question I have repeatedly asked is: Does God need Donald Trump? By insisting that we must vote for Trump for the sake of the unborn children (and to preserve religious liberty), are we not implying that—at this time—Donald Trump is necessary, that he is needed? Are we claiming that unless we vote for this morally vile candidate, there is no hope for the children or the church? What does this say about our trust in God?

Are we claiming that unless we vote for this morally vile candidate,there is no hope for the children or the church?

What does this say about our trust in God?

Here’s the view of the editors of Christianity Today:

“Enthusiasm for a candidate like Trump gives our neighbors ample reason to doubt that we believe Jesus is Lord. They see that some of us are so self-interested, and so self-protective, that we will ally ourselves with someone who violates all that is sacred to us—in hope, almost certainly a vain hope given his mendacity and record of betrayal, that his rule will save us.”

Please notice the wording in that last sentence. If voting for Trump is imperative for evangelical Christians, then we are putting our trust in his rule. Such trust is tragically misplaced. And as these editors, I, and many others have warned, this will have devastating consequences to our witness to the world. (Anyone paying attention to social media will see that it already is.)

A new single-issue voter

Many readers will be familiar with the concept of a “single-issue voter.” These aren’t people who are concerned with only one issue, but those who view one issue as of paramount importance. This doesn’t mean hasn’t meant they’ll vote for just anyone who expresses support for their key issue, but they refuse to consider someone who doesn’t share their viewpoint. Not supporting their position on this single issue is seen as a deal-breaker, distinguishing candidates they can support from those they cannot. For many evangelical voters, this single issue has been the sanctity of life and opposition to legalized abortion.

I’m proposing a new single issue. I say we shouldn’t even consider supporting a candidate who doesn’t have a basic personal decency, who isn’t an essentially moral, trustworthy person. Bad character should be automatically disqualifying regardless of the positions the candidate claims to support. If a candidate seriously lacks good character, their claimed positions are worthless. Treating the claims of dishonorable, unprincipled people as if they are worthy of serious consideration—even defending them!—lends credibility to unscrupulous people and makes us co-conspirators in their duplicity. I say if a candidate is someone who even the world widely views as a person of poor character, then we should not even consider such a candidate as worthy of evangelical support . . . . . . unless we are more trusting in the American political system to protect us and bring about societal change than we are the power of God.

In times of trouble, Israel often looked to earthly powers for help rather than relying on God—and God judged them for it. Christians have also misplaced their trust in worldly rulers before, whether it was the early church putting their trust in Constantine or German churches putting their trust in Hitler in the 1930s. We need to be very clear about our Christian priorities, and with whom we can and cannot ally ourselves. As Peter Berger once wrote: “He who sups with the devil had better have a long spoon.” Or as Scripture itself makes so clear:

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers.How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness?How can light live with darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:14

Are God’s people trying to advance the light by partnering with darkness? May it never be!

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.They are brought to their knees and fall,but we rise up and stand firm.

Psalm 20:7-8

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We’ve learned in previous posts which Gospels we can trust as generally reliable historical sources, and why. So, now, what do we really know about Jesus? Let’s see what we can discover about this historical figure.

Miracle workerThe New Testament Gospels present a Jesus widely known for working wonders. It doesn’t take us long in reading these accounts before we recognize this to be a key aspect to who Jesus was. He heals the sick, cures lepers, gives sight to the blind, makes the lame walk again, casts out demons, even raises the dead. According to these accounts, this was probably the greatest factor in Jesus drawing huge crowds of people to himself.

What’s surprising to some is that most Jesus scholars—even non-Christian ones—agree that Jesus must have been able to perform some kind of wonders. It’s generally agreed the historical person known as Jesus attracted large crowds of followers, and that what mostly drew the crowds to him was his reputation as a healer and miracle-worker. The earliest stories of Jesus’ ministry recount him healing not just a lucky handful who made it “on stage,” but everyone within vast multitudes of people. These stories would not have been sustainable if he had not, in fact, healed entire crowds of people.

What’s also revealing is that the most vehement and vocal critics of early Christianity never denied Jesus’ ability to work miracles. We find many references to his ministry in early (non-Christian) Jewish writings; they denounce him as a sorcerer but admit he performed healings and miracles. It seems apparent that if they could have denied Jesus’ miraculous power, they would have.

Teacher
Jesus was not only renowned for his healing abilities but also his teaching. Instead of the common rabbinical methods of his day—where a teacher would appeal to what rabbi X had once concluded, which was confirmed by rabbis Y and Z, ad infinitum—the people noticed immediately that Jesus taught with a surprising sense of authority. He didn’t appeal to the consensus of previous teachers; he simply said, “I say unto you . . .” This was shocking to the people, arresting their attention. What he taught was definitely fresh and provocative, but it was also compelling, hard to dismiss or refute. His teaching consistently focused on two things:

Kingdom of God
The first century Jews were anticipating the Kingdom of God, but Jesus presented a radically different way of understanding this Kingdom. Rather than proclaiming political deliverance for the nation of Israel, he taught a way of life focused on loving God and loving others. The Kingdom of God he described was somehow now in their midst, was something they were to seek, and would one day be fully and universally established. Jesus also taught that the Jews were not automatically part of this Kingdom, that there was a certain prescribed entryway into the Kingdom of God.

Son of Man
Put bluntly, Jesus focused his teaching on two subjects: (1) the Kingdom of God, and (2) himself. Jesus’ most common phrase for referring to himself was the “Son of Man.” This was understood by his culture as referring to the Messiah, the promised Deliverer. The only way to enter the Kingdom of God, the only way to receive salvation and enter into relationship with the Father, was through placing one’s faith in Jesus. While drawing the people to himself in his teaching, he repeatedly challenged their understanding of who the Messiah would be and what he would do. Jesus’ continual emphasis on himself proved to be the dividing line between those who accepted him and those who did not.

Crucified
Possibly without exception, the Jesus scholars agree that Jesus suffered the ignominy of a public execution by Roman crucifixion in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Why this occurred and the implications of this death are subjects we’ll explore soon in another post.

BuriedThe overwhelming consensus of Jesus scholars is that the New Testament burial accounts of Jesus are reliable. After being crucified, Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, in his own family tomb. We’ll return to the significance of this detail later.

This post is briefer than the others in this series, and it prompts us to now ask the crucial questions to which all of this leads: What of the resurrection? Did Jesus Christ really rise from the dead? Is there any historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus? We’ll begin examining these questions next week.